National Apprenticeship Week 2024: Q&A with Tom Hayward

To celebrate National Apprenticeship Week, our Tom Hayward has kindly agreed to share his experiences of being part of the Multiverse apprenticeship program.  

You can find out more about Multiverse apprenticeships here.

Why did you choose to take the apprenticeship route? 

There was an assumption in my sixth form that everyone should go to university, and no one talked about apprenticeships. I knew university wasn’t for me and I was lucky that my parents didn’t see it as necessary either and supported my decision to try something else.  Armstrong wasn’t my first apprenticeship! I actually did eight months in civil engineering and while the studying was fine, I knew the job wasn’t right. I left and after a lot of research and finding out what I really wanted to do, I came across Multiverse and data analytics – it felt a good fit in terms of my A-Levels and what I enjoy doing. 

How did you come across Armstrong? 

Once you’ve signed up to Multiverse you can look at their job board and there was an opportunity posted for Armstrong. It was my first proper interview which was a bit intimidating, but the job sounded interesting. I liked the idea of combining my technical computing skills with the commercial consulting experience I wouldn’t get at university.  

What’s it like being an apprentice? 

It can be challenging to balance studying and full-time work but the support I receive from Armstrong is amazing. There have been real benefits as well. The course fits with what I’m doing at Armstrong so I’m able to practice everything straightaway and consolidate my knowledge of data analytics. Even the programming elements have helped me be more logical and computational in my approach to data issues.  

What’s next? 

I completed my level four apprenticeship (equivalent to the first year of university) and I’ve now moved on to a degree apprenticeship with Armstrong. In less than two years I’ll have the equivalent of a degree in data analytics and spent four years working as a Data Analyst.  

What advice would you give to someone thinking about doing an apprenticeship? 

Be open to opportunities: I knew nothing about Commercial Due Diligence before I joined Armstrong. Don’t be put off by what you don’t know, apprenticeships are all about giving you that exposure.  

Consider applying to specialist organisations: they’re more personal and will give you greater responsibility earlier as well as involve you in a wider range of work. 

Keep going: it can be hard finding the right apprenticeship for you. It’s also knowing when to change if it’s not right. And remember you’ll still have had the skills training, industry experience, and a salary. There’s not much opportunity cost…  

You can find out more about working at Armstrong here or speak to a member of the team.  

Armstrong wins Commercial Due Diligence Provider of the Year

We’re proud to announce Armstrong has been awarded the Commercial Due Diligence Provider of the Year at the Unquote British Private Equity Awards.

The award recognises the hard work of our talented team which has given our clients the confidence to invest, innovate and grow in challenging markets. In the last year, Armstrong navigated a complex market helping management teams and investors to evaluate performance and identify opportunities through our rigorous commercial due diligence. 

Our work is based on our understanding of each company and its market, its value proposition and differentiators, and the commercial opportunity. This year we helped our clients to assess how resilient business plans were to a range of challenges including the energy crisis, inflation and the competitive dynamics of the markets they operate in. 

If you would like to find out more about who we are and what we do, please get in touch.  

Peter Cookson, Managing Partner

[email protected]
+44 7871 425 467

Email Peter

Armstrong inspires the next generation

As part of our partnership with Inspire!, Alessandra from Westminster Academy joined us for work experience last week.   

Inspire! is a local education charity working in the London Boroughs of Hackney, Camden, Islington and beyond. Their mission is to improve young people’s access to the world of work, raise achievement levels and enhance their future career prospects and lives.  

Alessandra Martorano, Westminster Academy said: 

“For anyone thinking of doing work experience, you will feel comfortable and supported with the team. I would definitely recommend the experience to anyone considering any business field – I’ve enjoyed getting to know everyone while developing my understanding of the corporate world. While on the job, I was encouraged to use different application software / apps – giving me an advantage when pursuing any future jobs. I got great support and help in every task, and never felt overwhelmed with tasks at any point.” 

Archie Smither, Consultant at Armstrong said:  

“It was great to have Alessandra join us for a week at Armstrong. She helped us with a number of useful tasks and hopefully gained an insight into the world of business. We’re proud to work with Inspire! on initiatives like this supporting our values of giving back and making an impact.”   

Zara Stanton, Programme Officer, Inspire! said:  

“There really has never been a more important time for us to support young people to develop their skills and confidence. We need to equip young people who are less likely to access professional careers to be able to thrive within the professional landscape. Support from firms like Armstrong really helps us achieve our goals. Ultimately, we want young people to gain exposure earlier to professional role models and the world of work. This means they are less likely to limit themselves in the future and more likely to have greater confidence to go out into the world and be whatever they decide they want to be!”  

Later in the year a team from Armstrong will be volunteering at events to provide advice on how to get into the world of work and organising further fundraising activities.  

To find out more about this fantastic charity, please visit: www.inspire-ebp.org.uk

Armstrong Inspires!

Armstrong is proud to be working in partnership with Inspire! 

Inspire! is a local education charity working in the London Boroughs of Hackney, Camden, Islington and beyond. Their mission is to improve young people’s access to the world of work, raise achievement levels and enhance their future career prospects and lives.  

This year, the Armstrong team completed the Tough Mudder to raise funds for this fantastic charity. And in 2023, we’re offering an internship to a pupil at Clapton Girl’s Academy, volunteering at events to provide advice on how to get into the world of work and organising further fundraising activities. 

Archie Smither, consultant at Armstrong said: 

“We’re proud to work with Inspire! Our pro-bono and financial support helps Inspire! to deliver programmes to schools and their work towards giving equal opportunities for all local young people.”  

Zara Stanton, Programme Officer, Inspire! said: 

“There really has never been a more important time for us to support young people to develop their skills and confidence, and to equip young people who are less likely to access professional careers to be able to thrive within the professional landscape. Support from firms like Armstrong really helps us achieve our goals.” 

“Ultimately, the earlier young people gain exposure and access to professional role models and the world of work, the less likely they are to limit themselves in the future, and the more likely they are to have greater confidence to go out into the world and be whatever they decide they want to be!” 

To find out more about this fantastic charity, please visit: www.inspire-ebp.org.uk

Armstrong shortlisted in Unquote British Private Equity Awards 

We’re delighted to be shortlisted for the Commercial Due Diligence Provider of the Year at the 2022 Unquote British Private Equity Awards, celebrating innovation and excellence in private equity. 

It’s fantastic acknowledgement of the team’s efforts after a great year of growth and success. In 2021, deal volume was up by 81% and our expanding team advised on 76 deals with a combined disclosed value of c £3.5bn. 

Please vote for us 

The winner will be decided by a public vote, please vote for us here 



Armstrong has been proud to support the following recent deals:    

BOWMARK CAPITAL INVESTMENT INTO LITTLEFISH | Mike Callow  

ECI INVESTMENT IN BCN GROUP | Mike Callow  

BGF’S INVESTMENT IN HARNHAM | Simon Hemsley, Solomon Ishack  

BEDFORD CONSULTING AS IT TAKES INVESTMENT FROM KEENSIGHT CAPITAL | Mike Callow, Simon Hemsley, Rupert Cookson, Charlie Mundy  

MML’S INVESTMENT IN VYTA, A LEADING IT RECYCLING COMPANY | Simon Hemsley, Matt McNally, Rupert Cookson  

ARMSTRONG SUPPORTS MELIOR EQUITY PARTNERS’ INVESTMENT IN SALMON SOFTWARE | Solomon Ishack, Simon Hemsley  

LDC’S INVESTMENT INTO ASPIRE TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS | Mike Callow.   

DA LANGUAGES IN ITS SALE TO IK PARTNERS | Peter Cookson, Jack Hibbs  

The quality and commercial experience of our people drives Armstrong’s success. Over the judging period we have grown the team by 16 people, investing in talent across our specialisms focus sectors.  We’re continuing our recruitment effort to support our growth ambitions. If you know of anyone who shares Armstrong’s values of curiosity, integrity and commercial savviness and wants a challenge, please point them towards Cat Barber who leads our recruitment effort.  

Thanks in advance for your support. 


Tom Raymond, Chair

[email protected]
+44 7762 386 216

Email Peter